Part of the appeal of blues is its folkloric element, which celebrates
the heroes and villains of the past in song, and passes history down
through generations in an organic and personal fashion.The entire history of the blues is a legacy of tribute that has
evolved from the oral tradition into a modern tradition of homage to
past masters, a network of mentors and protégés, a passing of the torch
from one generation to another. Harp player Bob Corritore is young to be
a bluesman of such experience and talent, and his five-year partnership
with guitarist/singer Dave Riley relies upon a traditional framework –
both in its duo format and its improvisational attack.
Lucky to Be Living is the
duo’s sophomore CD, a follow-up to 2007’s
Travelin’ The Dirt Road.

Dave Riley and Bob Corritore's
Lucky to Be Living CD pays tribute to a number of Mississippi
musicians, including the recently-deceased Jelly Roll King Sam Carr,
John Weston and Fred James. The CD's musicianship is stellar, including
some fine guest piano by one of the few remaining elders of ivory, Henry
Gray.

This collection pays special tribute to Frank Frost, Carr's bandmate in
the best Mississippi juke joint band ever, the Jelly Roll Kings, which
included guitarist Big Jack Johnson in the trio.
Lucky
To Be Living covers four of Frost’s songs and a lot of this CD
conveys the spirit of fun and improvisation of the Kings, whose original
LP launched the Earwig label. The four Frost tunes that appear here even
include "Jelly Roll King", with some adjusted lyrics by Riley. When
keyboard/harp player Frost died in 1999, drummer Carr teamed up with
Riley to form the Delta Jukes with harp blower John Weston.

However, the Frost songs here unfortunately don't have the rhythmic
intensity that Frost's records always offered, which means that the
tracks can start to sound a little repetitive if you're not a big fan of
more traditional sounds.
Corritore's harp playing is impeccable throughout, although those same
traditionalists might note that his Chicago style is a little big on the
country blues tunes. (This isn’t surprising as Corritore, who produced
the CD, cut his blues teeth in Chicago’s roughest blues clubs on the
South and West Sides. He’s no country boy).

This seems to be the paradox of paying tribute in the blues, which is a
pure performance genre. Any
blues artist who is important enough to warrant tribute also likely had
some truly unique characteristics that make it difficult if not
impossible to replicate the feeling they had.The reworked Frost tunes here are fine expositions, but they fail
to capture the full vibrancy of his work, which was always infused with
sparkling humor balanced with rhythmic intensity.

Standout tracks here include a loping version of Fred James'
"Automobile", as well as two Riley originals which show the promise of
this partnership: the spooky gospel-powered anthem "On My Way" and
another Riley original, the rollicking "Let's Get Together".These songs mine the rich blues tradition without digging the
same tunnel, which clearly is the best way to pay tribute to the masters
who inspired this recording.